"Cuba is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States," The Cuban leader said Thursday. He said those talks must occur "without" American pressure. Díaz-Canel added that Cuba was subjected to "intense media campaigns of slander, hatred, and psychological warfare."

On Saturday, Trump claimed negotiations with Cuba were starting. "We're starting to talk to Cuba," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "It doesn't have to be a humanitarian crisis. I think they probably would come to us and want to make a deal. So Cuba would be free again."

Trump is attempting to end oil imports to Cuba. Last year, the President ordered an operation to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Washington then demanded that the interim government in Caracas end oil exports to Havana.

Additionally, Mexico halted oil sales to Cuba to avoid reprisals from the US. However, Moscow said it will continue to supply Havana with oil. "Russian oil has been supplied to Cuba on numerous occasions in recent years. We expect this practice to continue," Russia's ambassador to Cuba, Viktor Koronelli, explained. 

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the White House is now "searching for Cuban government insiders who can help cut a deal to push out the Communist regime by the end of the year."

Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio is a long-time advocate for American regime change in Cuba. Trump recently posted on Truth Social that Rubio could be the President of Cuba.